Dubai is hoping to double its number of tourists to 20m by the end of the decade as it attracts visitors from new markets and cultivates return guests to the seventh most popular travel destination in the world, write Simeon Kerr and Camilla Hall.
The city’s sun, sea and shopping offering has been central to Dubai’s economic revival since its debilitating debt crisis in 2009, helped by its haven status since the Arab revolutions. Continue reading »
Standard Chartered is planning a further regional expansion as the bank seeks to build on growing trade between emerging markets, writes Simeon Kerr.
On the back of its 10th straight year of profits, the lender plans to boost its operations in the Middle East and Africa from its regional base in Dubai, which is rising as a financing hub for cross-border trade and investment. Continue reading »
A surge of Gulf interest in Turkish property has prompted developer Agaoglu to open offices in Dubai to exploit these flourishing commercial links, writes Simeon Kerr.
Ali Agaoglu, president of the developer, says his company has since May sold about 1,300 Istanbul units to investors from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states. Continue reading »
Dubai is back? Time to borrow
Savvy as a market trader, Dubai knows when to strike bargain. With everyone mumbling that “Dubai is back” the government realised that now is the time to borrow.
So on Tuesday, the emirate sold $1.25bn in Islamic and conventional bonds, to appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers from the Middle East, Asia and beyond. Bankers said Dubai issued $750m of 10-year Islamic debt at 3.875 per cent and $500m of conventional 30-year notes at 5.375 per cent. Continue reading »
Gulf: gauging recovery in the absence of economic data
Sentiment is everything in the Gulf. Without reliable or regular economic data, it is a struggle to know which direction the wind is blowing.
The underdevelopment and lack of disclosure of public statistics explains in part why so few saw Dubai’s 2009 debt crisis coming. And now, as some Gulf economies appear to be pulling out of the economic crisis, there are still few concrete numbers to prove it. Many are relying on improved sentiment…on anecdotes here and there. Continue reading »
Dubai: a spot of the old hubris?
Dubai has been back for some time. The trade, tourism and transport that are the foundations of its economy have been thriving for a couple of years, bringing an air of optimism back to the city after its 2009 debt crisis.
But now, some fear, the old hubris is back, too. Continue reading »
From plans for a giant replica of the Taj Mahal to the prospect of leafy suburbs being torn up to extend its creek, Dubai is rekindling projects that evoke memories of flamboyant pre-crisis times.
These projects, though eyecatching, are a concern for investors, who worry that the emirate might not have learnt from the bursting of its huge real estate bubble in 2008. Continue reading »
Dubai’s creditors: playing chicken
Sorting out Dubai Group’s $10bn debts was always going to be tougher than most negotiations over the emirate’s total $110 debt pile.
Now RBS, Commerzbank, Standard Bank and Commercial International Bank of Egypt have raised the stakes by launching arbitration proceedings in London, calling for immediate repayment of their loans after claiming two years of talks had failed. Continue reading »
UAE debt case: Shahin takes flight
The extraordinary case of Zack Shahin, the ex-chief executive of Deyaar, a Dubai-based real estate company, took a dark turn this week after reports emerged that he had fled to Yemen whilst on bail and was re-arrested there.
“Shahin is still being detained by the security apparatus,” a Yemeni security source, who declined to be named, told Reuters on Sunday. “We expect that the man will be deported to the UAE before the end of the week.”
Shahin was caught up in a corruption investigation that swept across state-linked developers and financial companies before Dubai’s real estate boom imploded. He was released from prison on July 12 after three years of inconclusive trials. Continue reading »
UAE: debt charges hard to shake
When British businessman Safi Qurashi walked from jail in Dubai on Tuesday, he thought his family’s long campaign for his release was complete.
The 43-year-old real estate developer, jailed for seven years for bounced postdated cheques, had been released after a judicial review of his case prompted by a seven-week hunger strike.
Not so fast. Continue reading »
Dubai: African hub, Nigerian bolthole
Dubai has long been the regional hub for the oil-rich Gulf states, but the ambitious city state is never one to rest on its laurels.
The emirate has for years been touting itself as the central node for 2bn people, spanning the Middle East, the subcontinent, central Asia and eastern Africa. Now, even West Africa, an eight-hour flight away, is on its radar. Continue reading »
Dubai: city of the centa-millionaires
Being a millionaire isn’t what it used to be. In their new 2012 Wealth Report, the property consultancy Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank take a look at the rise of the centa-millionaires of the world – those with at least $100m in liquid assets.
More centa-millionaires are popping up across the world thanks to what the report says is the central trend dominating the world’s prime property markets: “the relentless growth of ‘plutonomy’ economics, a phenomenon that sees the wealth of the richest 1 per cent growing far quicker than that of the general population.” Continue reading »
Dubai: thinking big again
If there is silver lining to Dubai’s grand building dreams – which left the city-state with a debt mountain of $110bn when property prices crashed – it’s that it now has the region’s best infrastructure: gleaming airports, a brand-new metro and lavish hotels.
As the Gulf emirate rebounds from the slump, it is hoping these facilities will enhance its status as a commercial entrepot. In particular, it wants to persuade the world that it is the ideal location to host the World Expo in 2020, the five-yearly exposition of national pavilions, where states outline their vision for national development. Continue reading »
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